That is one of the reasons he was so excited yesterday when Otago confirmed star prop George Bower had re-signed for the union for the 2022 NPC.
Bower did not play at all for Otago last season, as he was on national duties, and he has just 26 caps for the province, but he is a top-echelon prop who brings class and muscle to a team that should be setting its sights high this year.
Donnelly, who played 15 tests for the All Blacks and 82 games for Otago, is eager to have Bower back in the fold.
"It’s awesome news because George is an absolutely quality person for a start, and it’s great to secure a player like him," the Otago coach said.
"It’s a bit of a catch-22. Hopefully we see a bit of him, but if we don’t, that probably means he’s in the All Blacks.
"The way he’s developed and grown in recent years has been amazing to watch, and it’s awesome that he’s decided to come back and be part of Otago rugby again.
"He’s come through our system and turned himself from a loose forward into a prop and gone all the way to the top."
Bower, who plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby, earned 11 caps for the All Blacks in last year’s protracted season.
Having someone of that calibre in a provincial squad that has some veterans but also a good handful of youngsters would be a massive boost, Donnelly said.
"Think about the amount of exposure he gets to top-class coaching, and the players he rubs shoulders with every day.
"When he comes back to us, you just see how much of a professional he is, and he shows the young guys what it takes during the week to really set up a good performance at the weekend.
"He brings so many little things that are just invaluable."
Otago has retained a remarkably stable squad from last year, when it reached the NPC Championship final.
"It’s exciting, and we’re still working on a few other players we are keen to keep.
"We’ve had a really consistent core of our group over a couple of years. If we can sort of build on where we finished last year, it should be a really exciting season for us."
Otago has no chance of winning the Championship — but that is a good thing.
The two-tier NPC has been scrapped in favour of a conference-based system that still has its flaws but means all 14 teams are chasing one title.
"It’s something we’ve pushed for a while, and it’s quite exciting to get back to that traditional NPC rugby where everyone has a chance of winning.
"Some of the Championship teams have been right up there in recent years.
"We’ve got a real desire to win, but we need to just focus on our performance and making our supporters proud."
Donnelly enters the final year of his three year-contract as head coach, having previously spent three years as an assistant, but is not looking too far ahead.
"I love this province, and I love the job I do at the moment.
"I don’t know what the future holds. If I do a good job, I guess we’ll see what happens from there.
"The question for me has been, what does success looks like? And I probably battled with that a bit when I first started the job, because I want to win things, but that can give you some sleepless nights if you just focus on that.
"In the years I’ve been involved, we’ve made a couple of finals and won the Ranfurly Shield. We’ve had some pretty good performances in there, but my sole focus has to be on this year."
